TippeGypsyDoo
by LorelaiSquared
Summary: A/U: When Taylor annoys the town one too many times, it's Gypsy who steps up to the plate to run against him. Mayhem and comedy ensue! Please note the rating change for Luke and Lorelai's date in chapter 5
1. Shop Talk

_**Author's Note:**__ This story is dedicated to __**Jewels12**__, the biggest Gypsy fan I know, the best beta reader a girl could ever ask for and a true kindred spirit. _

_Now, on with the Gypsy goodness. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show._

_**Shop Talk**_

Gypsy folded her arms and frowned at the offending vehicle before her.

"Well?" Lorelai inquired, "What are my chances of getting Brunhilde to work today?"

"Who?" Gypsy tilted her head to the left slightly as she turned her gaze toward Lorelai.

"The jeep."

"You named your car Brunhilde? Why would you do that?"

"Because it's German and indestructible"

"Jeeps aren't German."

"Yes, but the name Brunhilde is."

Gypsy looked at her blankly for a moment before shaking her head and saying, "You are one weird lady."

"Actually, according to Rory, I'm multi-faceted abnormal!"

"Whatever. This Jeep is definitely not indes--" Gypsy was interrupted by a frighteningly Taylor-like throat clearing.

Both women swung around to see Mr. Doose standing next to the entrance of the garage, glancing impatiently at his watch.

"I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure is a very meaningless conversation ladies, but I'm kind of in a hurry here and your assistant assured me that you would be able to take care of my little problem immediately."

"Your little problem?" Lorelai tried unsuccessfully to prevent herself from giggling.

Gypsy glared at him suspiciously. "You don't even own a vehicle Taylor, what do you need a mechanic for?"

"I _HAVE_ a car."

"No you don't. You have a pinto." Gypsy shuddered.

"Yes, and that's a car if I'm not mistaken."

"That's not a car, that's a kleenex box on toy wheels."

Taylor sighed, "My car is irrelevant anyway, I have other mechanical issues that require attention today."

Lorelai snorted, earning a disapproving glare from Taylor, which only caused her to laugh even harder.

Gypsy turned back to the jeep, her own amusement playing across her lips. "As I was saying," she said loudly, deliberately ignoring Taylor's new round of throat clearing, "Your jeep is not indestructible. In fact, you've somehow managed to cause total internal destruction. She's a goner."

"Brunhilde? But she's still so young, and shiny."

"With the worst manifold pressure I've ever seen. Your transmission's shot too. I can fix it, but it's gonna cost you. You're better off with a new car."

"I don't want a new car, I want this one. Fix it for me, Gypsy."

"Fine with me, I could use another trip to Florida. It's gonna take a few days though. I'll call you when it's ready."

"Thanks, Gypsy. I guess I better start walking if I'm going to make it to the inn before Michel has a meltdown." Lorelai turned and started to leave the garage. She paused when she reached Taylor, her eyes widening in remembrance as she pulled some papers out of her bag. "Oh! Since you're here, Taylor, can you sign the permit for the two extra parking spaces we need at the Dragonfly?"

Taylor frowned indignantly, "This is highly irregular, Lorelai. It's hardly the proper procedure for such things, but I suppose it doesn't hurt for me to take a little look." he added, when Lorelai gave him a derisive glare. "No, I'm afraid not." He barely glanced at the papers before handing them back to her.

Lorelai sighed, "What's wrong with it this time?"

"Rejection code 'M'."

"What the hell is rejection code 'M'?" This was the third time Taylor had rejected the application over something stupid, and Lorelai was furious.

Taylor, pointed to the back of the forms in her hand. "Rejection code 'M' clearly signifies that the applicant's name does not match the name listed on the articles of incorporation. You did not put your middle name on this application. However, you _did_ put your middle name on the articles of incorporation. So the names don't match, and I have no way of knowing that you are the same person."

"Are you serious? Taylor, you've known me for years. You've been to the inn, you know I own it. This is ridiculous!"

"I don't see what you're so upset about. Simply fill in another form with your complete name and I'll be happy to review your application again."

"Ugh!" Lorelai turned and stormed out of the garage.

Taylor turned his attention back to Gypsy who had disappeared under Brunhilde. "Gypsy, you really should pay better attention to your customers. Making someone wait is no way to run a business."

Gypsy slid out from under the jeep, her eyes narrowed. "You're not a customer!"

"I'm here in your shop aren't I? And I wish to receive assistance for which I am more than prepared to pay a reasonable sum. By definition, I _am_ a customer."

Gypsy straightened up and reluctantly approached Taylor. "Fine, what do you want?"

"My watch is broken, I was told that you would be able to fix it."

"All this fuss over a lousy watch?" Gypsy took the watch, wound it, and handed it back to Taylor.

"That's it?" Taylor examined it carefully, then nodded, satisfied that it was back in working order. "Thank you."

"No problem. That will be $45.00, you can pay Frank inside."

"$45.00? That's ridiculous!"

"My time is valuable Taylor, besides I always abide by my own advertising." Gypsy pointed to a sign above the door that said 'Minimum half-hour labour charge for all repairs'. Then she grabbed a socket wrench and slid underneath Lorelai's jeep.

Taylor glared down at her before heaving open the door and marching into the office.

_TBC_

_**Author's Note:**__ The "kleenex box" and title are all __**Jewels12**__. She also prevented me from accidentally changing "Gypsy" to "Gyspy". Ahh, the comedy found in a good typo. _


	2. Annoyances

_**Author's Note:**__ Gypsy was shocked to discover that there's no character category for her here. She hopes that her fans might help her out by writing to the administrators to request her immediate addition to the list. She thanks you all kindly for the support and hopes you enjoy this next instalment of her story. _

_As always, a huge thank you to __**Jewels12**__ who kindly tolerates my babbling, grammatical errors and novel-like tendencies. _

**Annoyances**

Gypsy was mumbling to herself as she marched through the town square later that day, her eyes fixated on her destination. As she rounded the corner, she was nearly knocked over by a fuming Jackson who was muttering obscenities about Taylor as he made a hasty exit from Doose's Market.

Gypsy grumbled, "Thank you, Jackson, I enjoy being a human bowling pin."

Jackson ignored her and continued his tirade as he stomped away. Gypsy glared after him before storming into Doose's Market herself. She spotted Taylor at one of the tills and made a beeline for the infuriating little man.

Taylor was handing a woman her change when Gypsy thrust a piece of paper in his face and shouted, "Taylor, what the hell is this?"

Taylor shifted uncomfortably and grabbed a jug of milk from the belt. "I'm a little busy right now, Gypsy, so unless you are purchasing something, I will have to chat with you later."

"You're busy? Zach is your only customer." She gestured to Zach, who was pulling out his wallet to pay for the no-name brand milk.

"Yes, well, the rush is about to start any second now," Taylor hedged.

As if to prove his point, Kirk suddenly appeared in line, his arms filled with a bizarre assortment of deodorant and toothpaste.

"Fine!" Gypsy sighed and grabbed a banana from the produce section before lining up behind Kirk.

Taylor began to ring in Kirk's order at a snails pace, turning each item over repeatedly before scanning it in. To kill the time, Gypsy asked, "What's with all the personal hygiene products, Kirk?"

"Mother says that if I smell good and my teeth are shiny then Lulu and I might finally be able to take the next step in our relationship, if you know what I mean." He gestured to the mountain of products on the belt and added, "I wasn't sure which brand would turn Lulu on the most, so I picked them all."

Gypsy made a face and muttered under her breath, "I'm sorry I asked."

"Why? Se--"

"Finish that sentence, and I kill you."

Kirk closed his mouth as Taylor suddenly sped up and finished Kirk's order. Gypsy smirked. Apparently dealing with her, was a lesser evil than hearing about Kirk's sex life.

Taylor handed Kirk his change and said, "Here, Kirk, take a balloon. Election's on Tuesday."

"Oh, can I have a red one? I love red!"

"Sorry, Kirk, I only have blue left."

Kirk pouted, "But I wanted red."

"Fine, I'll keep the balloon then."

"No, I want it." Taylor sighed and gave Kirk the balloon. He watched as Kirk tried to juggle the balloon and the bag of hygienic products. He somehow managed to get the balloon stuck in the door on his way out and both Taylor and Gypsy watched in fascination as two bag boys tried to get him untangled and free of the store.

Once Kirk was out of sight, Taylor finally picked up the banana and began typing in a string of numbers.

"I waited in your stupid line, now talk to me, Taylor. What the hell is this?" She waved the paper again.

Taylor looked desperately down the aisle, hoping another customer would come to save him. When no one did, he sighed and said, "It's a fine."

"I know it's a fine, what the heck is it for?"

"Gypsy, please. This is not the proper forum to discuss the problem with your air compressor."

"What problem with my air compressor? It's been there for 10 years, how is there a problem?"

Taylor sighed. "Gypsy, this is my place of business. The unpleasantness with your compressor will be settled at the town meeting. That will be $9.95 for the banana."

"What? It's a lousy banana. I don't even want the banana, I'm only buying it because _you _said I had to buy something so that I could talk to you."

"Yes, well, $45 is steep for a watch repair, but as you know, business is business."

"Keep your damn banana then." Gypsy picked it up and chucked it at Taylor's head. Taylor sputtered and tried to wipe banana goo off his nose in an elegant fashion before turning to East Side Tilly who had lined up with cheese and tea biscuits.

Gypsy glared at Taylor once more before grabbing one of his stupid balloons and storming out of the store mumbling about ridiculous men with no lives.

As the door closed behind her she heard Taylor screaming after her, " You weren't supposed to take that. Balloons are for selected towns people only."

Gypsy couldn't help but smirk as she heard East Side Tilly interject with, "Taylor, you have banana in your ear --"

_xxxxx_

Lorelai was exhausted, and it was only eleven A.M. Between Brunhilde's untimely self destruction, Taylor's idiocy, and Michel's constant whining about midgets, her morning had been even more trying than usual.

She glanced at her watch again and smiled slightly. Only an hour before she could escape for a quick lunch at Luke's. Her eyes sparkled as she thought of the diner owner; her diner owner; her Luke. Her thoughts began to stray down more x-rated paths and she jumped when she heard yelling and strange squealing noises coming from the dining area a few minutes later.

Sighing heavily, Lorelai reluctantly abandoned her pleasant thoughts and left her office to investigate this newest disturbance. She skidded to a halt by the sitting room as she spotted the source of the squealing. Michel was perched precariously on top of one of the dining room tables screeching like a little piglet. Twelve children, around the age of 8 and 9, surrounded the table, each of them holding something in their hands and shouting up to Michel.

"Look Michel, it's a frog!"

"No, look at my spider!"

"Nuh, uh, he needs to see my lizard first."

"My mouse is cooler."

"Is not, mine is better, it's a rat!"

Lorelai stepped into the dining room and made a loud wolf whistle with her fingers. The children froze and turned towards her silently as Michel stopped squealing and scowled at her in disgust.

"This is your fault. I told you I do not like midgets. I told you I hate them. But you did not listen to me. You never listen to me. And now look, they have brought their germy, contaminated spawn into our inn."

The children giggled at Michel's tirade. One of them dropped their creature and went scrambling after it, knocking over a chair in the process.

"They're not midgets, Michel," Lorelai said patiently as she righted the chair, scooped up the squirming frog and handed it to its owner. "They're children, and they are here because their parents wanted them to have an authentic nature experience. If you are not willing to facilitate their visit, then I'm sure I can call Tobin and he'd be more than happy to --"

"All right, fine. I will do it. But I will not be happy about it." Michel climbed off the table and attempted to smile at one of the children; it came out more like a toothy grimace. "And I'm not touching the midget spawn."

Lorelai shrugged, figuring that was the best she'd get from him today. "You don't have to touch them Michel, just take them outside so Sookie can get the dining room ready for lunch."

Michel complied by grabbing the nearest boy by the arm and pulling him toward the exit. "You owe me," he muttered to Lorelai as he passed. The rest of the children followed and the dining room was soon blissfully quiet. It was on days like today when she wondered why she even bothered to keep Michel around.

Sighing, she headed back to her office to try and call Taylor regarding the stupid parking spaces. Yet another man in her life who drove her crazy. One of these days she was going to give in to her urge to punch the man. Until then, she would have to settle for trying not to scream as she dealt with his stupid red tape.

TBC


	3. Challenged

_**Author's Note:**__ I never realized how difficult town meetings are to write. So many characters. I hope I did it justice. Some of the dialogue here comes from "__Tippecanoe and Taylor, Too." __and I've just twisted it to my own advantage. _

_A very special thanks to my incredible beta __**Jewels12**__!_

_**Challenged**_

Lorelai was still fuming at Taylor when she waltzed into the diner just after 1 PM. She had tried again to send him the permit for the parking spaces and this time his little minion had had the audacity to tell her that two more parking spaces at the inn violated section 5 million something of some idiotic code. She had stopped listening. It was bad enough that Taylor wouldn't even speak to her himself. Now he was feeding her garbage about code violations. She was fed up with his ridiculous rules and regulations.

Lorelai planted herself on a stool at the counter and relaxed as she spotted Luke coming toward her with the coffee pot. Now here was the one man in the world who wasn't annoying her today - and not just because he had the coffee.

"Hi you," she grinned as he leaned across the counter to give her a gentle kiss before filling her mug. "You are a god. You have no idea how much I need this today."

"Tough day?" Luke tilted his head in concern.

"Tough? Try insane!" Lorelai breathed in the sweet scent of Luke's coffee and took a large sip before babbling incoherently. "Brunhilde croaked, Michel, midgets, spawn, red tape, parking spaces, Taylor -- "

Luke's eyes narrowed at the mention of Taylor's name and he interjected with, "I hate him!"

"I'm beginning to share that sentiment." Lorelai sighed.

"Will it cheer you up to hear that Gypsy creamed him with a banana today?"

"Seriously? Did you see it?" Lorelai's eyes shone brightly as she perked up.

"Sadly, no, but East Side Tilly was there. I would pay good money to see Taylor with banana guts on his face."

"So would I. East Side Tilly, huh? So the whole town's heard about it by now."

"Apparently Taylor really ticked Gypsy off. Somethin' about air compressors." Lorelai and Luke both jumped at Babette's shrill voice as she plopped herself onto the stool next to Lorelai's. "Lotsa people are real annoyed with him lately."

Lorelai nodded. "It's true, I've heard people complaining about him all week. He even made Miss Patty angry the other day. It's like he woke up one morning and thought, 'Hey, I think I'd like to annoy the town to death this week.'"

Babette chuckled. "Yeah, someone really needs tah yank the stick outta his arse! Hey Luke, how about some pancakes?"

"Coming right up, Babette." Luke turned to Lorelai who had choked on her coffee at Babette's comment and was still trying to compose herself and clean up the mess. Luke handed her a rag from behind the counter and asked, "Do you want anything to eat?"

"Pancakes. No, waffles. No, a cheeseburger. With fries _and_ onion rings. And if you're about to tell me how it will stunt my growth or something, I'll tell you all about Michel and the midget spawn, in detail."

"Fine, you're off the hook. For now." Luke turned to place the orders. Lorelai finished cleaning up her mess and took another swig of coffee.

The bell to the diner jingled and Kirk came in, his bottom lip puckered into a pout.

"What's the matter, shuggah?" Babette asked him.

"Taylor won't give me another balloon. I can't help it if Cat Kirk is terrified of rubber and decided to go Kamakaze on the balloon."

Lorelai stifled a giggle. "What was the balloon for, anyway?"

"Taylah is running for Town Selectman again. I don't know why he bothers with campaignin', no one ever runs against him."

"Maybe it's time someone did," Lorelai mused. "He's been terrorizing this town for too long."

Suddenly she jumped as Luke slammed plates down in front of her and Babette and stormed over to the window between the soda shoppe and the diner. "What the hell is that?" He gestured to what looked like a giant mannequin standing in the window facing the diner. The mannequin had been decorated to resemble Taylor and it held a sign that read 'Vote Doose for selectman and doe-see-doe from festival to festival for another year'.

"I've told him he can't use that stupid window for advertising, but the moron just doesn't listen." He looked at Lorelai, "Would it be wrong for me to throw a pie in his face?"

"Only if you do it when I'm not around to watch!" Lorelai suddenly noticed the time and wolfed down the last few bites of her meal as Luke watched in appalled amazement. "I gotta get back, babe, save the pie for the town meeting, it will keep things interesting."

"I'm not going to the town meeting. I hate town meetings."

"I'll argue with you about this later, I really do have to go." Lorelai leaned across the counter and surprised Luke with an open mouth kiss before grabbing her bag and bounding out of the diner.

_xxxxx_

Lorelai dug through the paper bag of candy in her hand and started chucking bits of black liquorice toward Taylor. He was standing behind the podium at Miss Patty's, lecturing the stunned townspeople.

"The ferocity of attack is not affected by whether they're in the larval or nypmhal life stage or whether they're of the one-, two-, or three-host variety."

"Oh, I hate this, Taylor." Miss Patty interjected. "Every year!"

"Yeah," cried Babette, "We get it -- ticks are bad."

Taylor continued, "Maybe people who are new to our town -- thus, new to the town meeting -- don't know the hazards of the common tick."

Gypsy sighed heavily and stood up. "Ticks are bad!" she stated to the room at large, then she turned to Taylor, and said pointedly, "Moving on!"

As she sat down, Taylor continued, "Don't hate the tick messenger. Hate the tick. Now, to continue..."

Gypsy rolled her eyes and leaned over to Lorelai, who was sitting next to her. "Can you believe this? Every damn year... such a waste of time."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "He's ruined the word 'nymphal' for me forever."

Gypsy snorted, earning an angry glare from Taylor as he added, "That's when a tick clamps onto his host, plunges his hypos-tome into the skin, and feasts on his next blood meal."

"You take too much delight in this, Taylor," Miss Patty chastised as everyone groaned except Kirk, who was riveted, his eyes fixated on Taylor in fascination.

"Go on, Taylor. He's sucking out the blood..."

"Don't encourage him." Lorelai moaned.

Taylor ignored her and droned on, "They feed for extensive periods, and at large volumes, up to 500 times their body weight. This would be the equivalent of a 150-pound man drinking 9000 gallons of human blood."

This was met with a louder chorus of groans and expressions of disgust. Kirk was again the exception as he sat nodding with grave interest, eager to hear more.

"Taylah, please! We get it!" shouted Babette.

Miss Patty nodded in agreement. "Yes, Let's just vote on whatever it is you want us to vote on."

"Before I hurl," added Andrew.

"And before I cut my eyes out," Lorelai threw in.

"Yeah!" Jackson shouted.

Taylor sighed, "Fine. The question before us is, shall the town incur the expense of posting signs urging residents to tuck their pants into their socks during tick season? In favour?" Taylor glanced around the room, counting only three hands. He sighed again and reluctantly asked, "Opposed?"

As she and the rest of the town raised their hands, Lorelai leaned toward Gypsy again whispering, "Who's he kidding? I'm not committing fashion suicide for Bus-and-Truck-Tour Mussolini."

Gypsy chuckled. "I'm not giving the fink anything."

"The measure is defeated by an irresponsible, devil-may-care majority." Taylor glared at his audience before moving on to address Jackson's hydroponic greenhouse issue.

As Taylor and Jackson argued the finer details of greenhouse locations, Lorelai and Gypsy continued their whispered conversation.

"Hey, is it true you threw a banana at him earlier today?"

Gypsy nodded. "Creamed him right in the nose, too! Wish I had a camera."

Lorelai giggled, and lowered her voice as several people turned to stare. "Oh hey, how's Brunhilde?"

"I don't know why I'm bothering to fix her," Gypsy grumbled, "She's gonna self combust one of these days the way you drive her."

"Hey! I love my jeep. I take care of her."

"Yeah, if you call grinding the gears and never changing the oil, 'care'."

"Okay, so maybe I forget sometimes..."

Gypsy rolled her eyes. "She'll be ready tomorrow. Come by after work. And bring your cheque book!"

Lorelai and Gypsy looked up to see Taylor staring at them stonily. They both straightened in their seats as Taylor stated, "The next item is -- the matter of the town of Start Hollow vs. Proprietor 32411-A. Is the proprietor present?" Taylor looked directly at Gypsy as he said this.

She stood up and said, "If that's me, I'm here."

Taylor looked down at her. "The proprietor is present. Now, said proprietor is cited as being in violation of section 324, subsection 4b, subsection 23-c, formerly known as section 325, subsection --"

"Enough," moaned Gypsy.

"Yeah," Lorelai groaned, "This is more painful than ticks!"

"So, the proprietor requests the reading of the citation be waived?"

"Waive it. Please. Just tell me what the hell is wrong with my air compressor."

"It's positioned too close to your heat pump."

"My heat pump is on the other side of the building."

"Yes, well, it's too close," Taylor stated, shifting uncomfortably behind the podium.

"This is ludicrous, Taylor!" yelled Andrew. "You're just mad at her because she banana-gooed you!"

"The proprietor is clearly in violation of section 324 --"

"Aw. Can it, Taylah!"

"Yeah. What is your issue?" Sookie implored.

"He's got a vendetta against the town?" guessed Bootsie.

"Order!" Taylor tried to get everyone's attention again.

"Or maybe he thinks he's the Musselini of Stars Hollow?" Jackson suggested.

"Gypsy has broken a law," insisted Taylor, shouting over the chattering of the crowd. "And as town selectman, it's up to me to see that the situation is rectified."

"Unbelievable!" Gypsy shouted back. "I still don't get what law I'm supposed to have broken."

"You overchar--, I mean," Taylor quickly tried to correct himself, "You have a safety hazard in your place of business."

"Are you kidding me?" Gypsy spat, exasperated. "This is about the damn 45 bucks?"

Lorelai stood up. "Come on, Taylor. This is absurd... and borderline pathetic."

"Yeah, Taylah, get a life!"

"This issue is not open for debate."

Lorelai ignored him. "This is a nice woman who is providing a very essential, very professional service and you just need to oil your knees and go see the wizard and get a heart and drop this!"

"What is this, Lorelai -- lingering resentment over the parking space issue?"

"Well come on, you rejected it because I left out my middle name. How many other Lorelai Gilmores do you know?"

"Well, there's your daughter."

Lorelai paused for a moment, temporarily stumped. "Okay. But what would Rory need two parking spaces at the Dragonfly Inn for? She's living at Yale. You knew it was me who was applying."

Taylor chose to evade the issue yet again. "I think it's about time to adjourn this meeting."

"Oh, we're not done with this, Taylor!" shouted Gypsy. "I'm not paying your stupid fine"

Taylor shrugged. "The fine doubles if you don't pay it. It's up to you if you'd rather pay more." Taylor lifted his gavel to adjourn the meeting.

"Don't bang that gavel!" Shouted Jackson, who was still livid about his greenhouse.

"Your issue is not with me." He eyed Jackson, Lorelai and Gypsy with trepidation as they all rose to their feet, furious. "I am merely the humble vessel for the municipal code."

"Maybe it's time for a different vessel," Gypsy shouted.

"Yeah!" Lorelai and Jackson chimed in together.

Taylor frowned. "A different vessel?"

"That's right. A different vessel. I'm running." Gypsy folded her arms across her chest and glared at Taylor.

"For what?" Taylor was genuinely confused.

"For whatever it is you are. What are you again?"

"Town selectman?"

"I'm running for town selectma--woma--thingy. You're our Papa Doc no longer." Gypsy's outburst was met with a moment of silence as people absorbed the news.

"But, nobody ever runs against Taylor." Miss Patty was shocked.

"You really want to hear about ticks for the next 8 meetings, Miss Patty?" Lorelai asked.

Miss Patty shuddered. "Oh god, no. If Gypsy really wants to run, I'm all for it."

"Me too!" shouted Babette.

"Well, I accept the challenge," Taylor said enthusiastically. I look forward to a lively race. Competition is the whetstone that sharpens the blade of democracy. Meeting adjourned."

Everyone cheered as the gavel marked the end of one of the most torturous town meetings in history. People buzzed in excitement around Gypsy who was beginning to look a little overwhelmed.

"Whatever you need, friend, I'm with you," Lorelai enthused.

Gypsy smiled at her and shook her hand, "I need your vote."

"You got it!" Lorelai made her way to the exit. She was eager to go to the diner to share these new developments with Luke. He was going to love this.

Gypsy began to work her way through the crowd, shaking hands and introducing herself to people. As she made her way near the exit she began to wonder just what she'd signed up for. Then she spotted Taylor entering the Soda Shoppe and she remembered. As she walked back to the garage her only thought was, 'Taylor, is going down.'

TBC


	4. Speculations

_**Author's Note:**__ Sorry about the delay in writing this. Between writers' block, illness and a sister visit it's been tough to get this one written _

_A very special thanks to the amazing, the incredible, the indescribable, juggling, __**Jewels12; **__Super beta extraordinaire_

_**Speculations**_

The next day, the town was buzzing about the events of the town meeting. By breakfast the next day, anyone who hadn't heard about Gypsy's challenge had been informed via 'Hello Magazine'.

The once boring and mundane election was suddenly the hot topic of conversation for everyone in town as people speculated the outcome.

Despite the buzz, Gypsy managed to remain oblivious. There had been an accident early that morning on the highway to Hartford and she was swamped with repairs from the resulting fender benders.

She stared at the lime green VW Beetle in front of her and frowned as she assessed the damage. She was so focused on her task that she failed to notice Kirk and Andrew standing across the street staring at her as they argued over who was most likely to win.

"I think she's gonna win!" Andrew stated proudly.

"I don't know," Kirk hedged, "Taylor is a very knowledgeable and highly respected member of Stars Hollow. He knows everything about this place"

"Yeah, but he's also a grumpy old coot who tries to twist everything to his own advantage." Andrew grumbled. "Everyone hates Taylor."

"That's true." Kirk nodded, then frowned. "But if I don't vote for Taylor he might hurt me."

Andrew rolled his eyes. "He's not going to know if you voted for him Kirk. You're a grown man, you can make your own decisions."

"You're right Andrew!" Kirk beamed, "_I_ decide who to vote for… I just have to check with Mother first." With that, he rushed off toward the Gleason house as Andrew shook his head in amusement.

Andrew let himself take one last glance at Gypsy before turning and walking toward the bookstore.

*****

"Hey Gypsy. How goes the campaigning?" Lorelai inquired that evening, when she stopped by the shop to pick up her Jeep.

"Huh?" Gypsy looked up from the greasy bolt she was cleaning, "I haven't started yet, I've been busy here today."

"You should start, everyone's talking about it today. They all want to see you beat the pants of Taylor." Lorelai scrunched up her face as she unconsciously pictured a pant-less Taylor, "Ewww... but not literally, cause that would be gross."

Gypsy blinked, unable to follow Lorelai's rapid train of thought. She decided to ignore the comment and instead said, "I'm not sure how to start. Should I have a slogan or something?"

"You'll need balloons and buttons and stuff. A slogan would be good too!" Lorelai thought for a moment before exclaiming "How about - 'Taylor sucks like a tick'?"

Gypsy stared at her incredulously, "You can't be serious!?!"

Lorelai laughed, "That was rather gross, sorry, first blurt. We'll work it out."

"We?" Gypsy raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Sure, I thought maybe I could help you out. Be your campaign manager or something."

"Wow, you must really hate Taylor."

"Doesn't everyone? He's been especially awful lately. Besides, if Taylor is ousted it would make Luke happy, and if Luke's happy, he'll make me happy; If you get my drift..." Lorelai trailed off as she started to think of the myriad of wonderful ways in which Luke could make her happy.

"Hey, whatever floats your boat... as long as I don't have to be on it. Anyway, I'd be happy to have the help." Gypsy said genuinely before changing gears, "Now about this jeep -- I hope you brought your chequebook, and lots and lots of cheques!"

*****

The next morning, Lorelai and Gypsy set up shop at Luke's Diner. Lorelai had pushed two tables together and covered them with a red tablecloth. She'd then decorated the table with blue and white ribbons and bows.

Sookie was helping out by circulating through the diner, handing out balloons. She stopped at a table with two small children and handed each child a balloon as she enthusiastically made small talk. "Hey, aren't you two handy with a knife and fork?" The parents and children looked up at her, bemused and a little scared. Sookie smiled obliviously and wove her way over to the next table. "Vote for Gypsy, she puts the "G" in … um… gas!" she exclaimed loudly, shoving the balloon into Bootsie's hand as he bit his lip to try and prevent himself from laughing.

Lorelai quickly go up from the main table and came over to intervene. "Um, Sookie, slow down a bit. You're scaring people." She said gently as she took Sookie's arm and led her back toward Gypsy.

"Am I?" Sookie looked around the diner as she sat down, for the first time, noticing the weary and wideeyed looks of the customers. "Oh, I am. Sorry. It's just so exciting, I mean the idea of no Taylor running the show, it just makes me, and Gypsy's so, and Taylor's so and … eeee.. you know?" Sookie made a wild gesture with her hands as she squealed and Gypsy had to duck to avoid elbow to eye contact.

Gypsy eyed Sookie wearily, "Is she on something? Her eyes look funny."

Lorelai chuckled. "You know Sookie, high on life." She paused and then raised her right eyebrow at Sookie as she teased, "She puts the 'G' in gas?"

"Did I say that?" Sookie's eyes widened, "Oh god, I did say it, didn't I?"

Gypsy shrugged, "I thought it was good. I still need a good campaign slogan. This could be the one." Lorelai and Sookie stared at her incredulously for a moment before Gypsy's face broke into a huge grin. "It's a joke. You know, ha – ha?" The three women stared at each other for a moment before breaking into a round of hysterical giggles, earning them a hardened glare from Luke who was pouring coffee for customers at the counter.

They continued to giggle uncontrollably for several seconds before being brought back to reality by a man standing abnormally close to them.

Lorelai jumped and sobered immediately. "Geeze Kirk, make a noise or something."

"What's with the suit?" Gypsy inquired, gesturing to the maroon coloured suit that Kirk was wearing. The suit was too small for him, the sleeves of his jacket ending well above his wrist, and the pants barely covered his knees. It looked as though he'd borrowed the suit from a poor unsuspecting ten-year old.

Kirk cleared his throat and said in a professional voice, "Ladies, I offer myself up to you."

Gypsy and Sookie exchanged a half-amused and half-disgusted look as Lorelai choked on her coffee and fought hard to prevent herself from spewing it all over Kirk. Kirk stood in front of them obliviously, waiting for a reply. She finally managed to swallow her coffee without choking. She took a deep breath, partly to prevent herself from giving in to the urge to say 'dirty', before saying, "Explain yourself Kirk."

"I took it upon myself to poll the town, and I think you're gonna be pretty happy with the results." Kirk beamed proudly.

"We are?" Sookie inquired.

Kirk nodded. "Gypsy is solidly in the lead."

"Already?" Gypsy was incredulous.

"But we just started bugging people." Lorelai mused.

"Well, I modeled my poll after the Gallup poll. The Gallup poll uses a sample of 1,005 voters to represent the 280 million people of the United States. Using that logic, the correct sampling size of the town of Stars Hollow would be 0.002. Rounding that up means one person needs to be polled, so I picked mother."

Lorelai stifled a snort, "You polled your mother?"

Kirk shrugged and said confidently, "She was right there. I trust her opinion. Seemed like a perfect opportunity."

"You mean, you wanted to know her opinion before you made up your own." Sookie accused.

"Okay." Lorelai intervened before Kirk could respond, "Well, first of all, thank you for dressing up to talk to your Mother. And secondly, I think you're going to need to poll more people to get a better sense of where we really are."

"Oh, okay. Excuse me for a moment." Kirk walked over to an empty table on the other side of the diner. The three women watched in fascination as Kirk stared at the chair and said something. Then he sat in the chair, and looked up at where he had been standing and said something else. Then he stood up again and repeated the process.

"What the heck is he doing?" Gypsy asked.

"Looks like he's having a conversation with himself." Lorelai observed.

"Oh! Maybe he's in a play and he's practicing!" Sookie burst out, enthusiastically.

Lorelai giggled as she saw Luke approach Kirk angrily. "What the hell are you doing? This is a diner not a floorshow. Either sit down and order or get out."

Kirk looked at Luke and said, "My business here is done anyway. Thank you for your time." He directed the last to the empty chair, and rushed back over to the campaign table before Luke could hurt him.

"Okay, well I just polled myself. It was quite the debate. I can be quite mean to myself you see. It almost got ugly when Gypsy and Taylor were neck in neck for a moment there, but in the end the results were unanimous. Gypsy is definitely in the lead." Kirk held his head high as he grinned at them expectantly.

"What? Are you expecting a medal or something?" Gypsy scoffed.

"Kirk and I are beyond accolades." Kirk said smugly.

"Huh? What's with the first person?" Sookie frowned, "When did you become two people?"

At the same time, Gypsy said, "You have a multiple personality disorder or something?"

Lorelai sighed. "Kirk, the point is, that in order for your poll to be useful, we need a variety of opinions. Preferably not all from members of the same family."

Kirk nodded, "Oh okay, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks Kirk." Lorelai called after him as he walked out of the diner. "You did notice the huge hole in the back of his pants?"

"How does that happen?" Sookie giggled.

"That's Kirk." Lorelai exclaimed.

"It certainly is." Sookie shook her head, giggling as she watched Kirk trip over a dog leash on his way across the town square.

"Creepy little man if you ask me." Gypsy put in, shaking her head.

"Hey, excuse me," Luke wandered up to the table and glared down at Lorelai, "but my customers aren't getting in the way or your thing here, are they?"

Lorelai considered for a moment, glancing around the diner, "Uh, no, they're fine."

"Good. 'Cause I can kick them out or close down for you, if you like."

Lorelai picked up on his cold and sarcastic tone but deliberately chose to ignore it as she smiled up at him and said brightly, "That's sweet, but we're good."

"So you'll tell me if my business is in your way?" he spat out, trying not to loose his temper.

"You'll be the first to know." Lorelai's cell phone rang at that moment and she quickly answered it, avoiding eye contact with Luke as he gestured vehemently toward the no cell phone's sign. Gypsy and Sookie, sensing that Luke was about to blow, quickly busied themselves looking through the call lists.

Lorelai hung up. "Mrs Cassini was a tough sell but she says we've got her vote!" she exclaimed excitedly. She looked up and jumped when she saw that Luke was still standing at the table, glowering down at her. "Oh, you're still here!" She exclaimed. "Can't resist my long flowing tresses?" she flirted, trying to ease the tension she could sense emanating from Luke.

"Okay," he growled, "Maybe you were missing my subtle sarcasm there when I mentioned my customers being in your way?"

Lorelai grinned, "Oh, no. I didn't miss it at all."

"Get your war room out of here!"

"Hey, this is for a good cause. Taylor bugs you, too." She pointed to the window between the diner and the Soda Shoppe.

Luke turned and glared at Taylor who was proudly handing out buttons and free ice cream to his customers. "Yes, he bugs me."

"Okay, then. We're trying to get rid of your little annoyance."

"By becoming my new little annoyance?" Luke started to storm away, when the door to the diner opened and Taylor entered jovially.

"Good morning Luke, Ladies!" he said cheerfully as he marched past Gypsy's table.

He walked over to the side closest to the Soda Shoppe and contemplated the tables in the area. He rubbed his hand on his chin and nodded murmuring "Yes, I think this will do nicely."

Luke's eyes narrowed suspiciously and he unconsciously moved closer to Lorelai. "What the hell is he doing?" he whispered.

She shrugged, "Beats me. Who knows what goes on in that mans head." She suddenly noticed how close Luke was standing and she grinned up at him whispering, "Hi" in a somewhat husky voice.

Luke tore his eyes away from Taylor for a moment and smiled down at Lorelai. After checking to make sure that Sookie and Gypsy were occupied with their call lists, he leaned in closer and said, "Hey, have I told you how beautiful you look today?"

Lorelai's blue eyes lit up, "No!" she grinned. "Are you flirting with me?"

"That's the word on the street." Luke leaned in closer, gravitating towards her soft lips.

Lorelai's breath quickened as she felt his cool breath against her skin, her eyes were fixated on his lips as they moved towards hers. As their lips touched, she marveled at the electricity that coursed through her veins, starting at he lips and flowing outward to every part of her body. She could still barely believe that she was allowed to kiss him. It still seemed like a dream to her that she could finally be intimate with the man she'd unconsciously held in her heart for so many years. She moaned softly and opened her mouth for him as her arms reached behind his neck to hold him close. Just as Luke's tongue found hers and they began to engage in an elaborate dance they were torn out of their fog of passion and back to reality by a loud scraping sound as Taylor dragged a table across the diner floor.

Luke blinked for a second, stunned at their sudden uncharacteristic public display of affection. He forced himself to tear his eyes away from Lorelai and turn his attention to Taylor, but kept his hand on her back because he felt the need to keep some level of physical contact with her.

His blood began to boil as he saw that Taylor had pulled two of his best tables together and set them up underneath the Soda Shoppe window. He had procured a box of buttons from somewhere and was spreading them out on the table as he hummed to himself.

Luke reluctantly pulled away from Lorelai and stormed over to Taylor, his rage intensified by his sexual frustration. "Taylor. What do you think you're doing?"

Taylor sat down and looked up at Luke demurely. "Why Lucas, I'm just exacting my rights of equality and freedom of speech."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Luke glowered.

"It means he's an attention hog and he's trying to hone in on our campaign." Gypsy rose and joined Luke in glaring at Taylor.

Taylor began to look uncomfortable as Gypsy and Luke continued to glower at him. "I'm merely engaging in friendly political competition. Call it a non-verbal debate if you will."

"I'd rather not." Luke said stoically.

Taylor ignored the comment and stood up and began to circulate through the diner, forcing buttons into people's hands.

"Stop that!" Luke commanded. "These are my customers for crying out loud. Does nobody get that?" Taylor ignored him and kept moving.

"That's it!" Gypsy exclaimed, she traced Taylor's steps and grabbed the buttons back from the startled customers. Then she marched over to Taylor and grabbed the button that was in his hand. "This is my territory Taylor. Back off!"

"Well actually, Luke's is a public establishment and –"

"You heard the lady Taylor, back off!" Luke shouted vehemently before Taylor could finish his thought. Gypsy gaped at him, shocked at his unexpected support.

"But you're letting _her_ campaign here." Taylor protested pointing at Gypsy.

"That's because I actually _like_ Gypsy! She can stay, you need to leave." Luke gestured to the door.

"Yes!" Lorelai pumped her hand in the air, but quickly lowered it when Luke shot her an unamused look.

"But Lucas – "

"Out Taylor. Take your tacky buttons and get out of my diner." Luke opened the door.

Taylor sighed heavily, grabbed his button box and stormed out the door, when he was on the bottom step he turned and looked back at Luke, "This isn't over Lucas."

Luke slammed the door in his face and turned away. "That was fun!" he grinned at Lorelai briefly, then turned his attention to Gypsy, "You win this thing, you hear? I want you to whip Taylor's butt so badly that he can't sit down comfortably for a year. Use my diner, bug my customers, break the rules, do what you have to do, just win. Taylor's reign of terror ends today!"

With that, he stormed off to the kitchen leaving the three women to stare after him stunned.

xxxxx

Later that day Gypsy, Lorelai, Sookie and Rory were gathered around the table in the diner, brainstorming possible campaign slogans.

"Taylor had a bunch of them on those stupid buttons. Maybe we can steal one of those." Gypsy suggested.

"Worth a try," Sookie shrugged and picked one up off the table. "'A vote for me is a vote for inertia.'" She read. "Say what? I don't get it, do you get it?" she looked at Lorelai who shrugged.

Gypsy reached for the next button and read, "'Taylor Doose: An Honest Man!' Pft. Honest my ass." She wrinkled her nose in disgust as Luke walked past and scoffed.

"Okay, that's out!" Lorelai picked up the next button and read, 'Taylor Doose, a name you can trust.' Bo-ring! Man these are worse than 'Taylor sucks like a tick!' At least that one was kind of funny." She turned to Rory, "Got anything oh brilliant , future journalist daughter of mine?"

"Ummm… 'Don't be ditzy, vote for Gypsy'?" she suggested lamely.

"This is impossible!" Lorelai groaned, she stood up, and walked to the counter, "Luke, I need more coffee!"

He poured her a fresh mug and set it in front of her. Then he reached across the counter and squeezed her hand gently in encouragement, and didn't let go. "Hey are you busy tonight?" he asked softly, hoping to distract her for a minute.

She smiled, just as he'd hoped she would, "I don't know, what do you have in mind?"

"You, me, dinner, upstairs, alone…" He trailed off and let himself get lost in her eyes fofra moment before whispering, "We can finish what we started earlier."

He saw the heat blazing in her eyes as she brightened. "You're on!"

He squeezed her hand again "I can't wait.

Lorelai leaned across the counter and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, she was afraid that if she lingered, she wouldn't be able to stop. "Thanks babe. I'll see you later."

"You bet! Hey listen, you'll think of something." He nodded towards the table where Gypsy and Sookie were still brainstorming, "I trust in you."

"Thanks Luke, that means a lot." She couldn't help but smile as she as she grabbed her mug and headed back to the girls.

TBC


	5. Confessions

**Confessions**

**A/N:** _Thank you to all those involved in the writing sessions where the bulk of this was written. Your feedback, tips and encouragement are greatly appreciated. A special thank you to **Filo** for letting me steal some dialogue she had been saving up. I hope I did it justice. Also, an incredibly grateful shout out to **Olivia Jane** for helping me figure out how to fix a particularly repetitive (and redundant!) scene._

_**Jewels**, as always your support and wicked editing are part of what keeps me going. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. And now I shall pour out my heart…_

At 6:15 that evening, Lorelai leapt over the towering pile of rejected date clothing that decorated her floor as she raced to her dresser to find the earrings that Luke had given to her when he had returned from his summer in Medieval-Land.

She carefully put them on and then launched herself toward the stairs forgetting about her mountain of clothes. With the grace of a moose on ice skates, she plummeted, finding herself face to face with her fuzzy alarm clock, which she had unceremoniously thrown on the floor that morning.

Lorelai blinked in surprise, then moaned and got up, cursing and kicking at the clothing as she rubbed at her wounded hip. She picked up Fuzzy, and gasped as she set him on the nightstand. "Crap! I'm late!" She flew down the stairs and out the door. She was halfway to the jeep before she realized that she'd forgotten her keys upstairs. Deciding that her desire to see Luke was stronger than her desire to go back into the danger zone, Lorelai began to walk toward the diner.

Despite her haste to meet up with her favourite flannel man, she couldn't help herself from pausing to look at the latest campaign sign hanging in Taylor's Soda Shoppe: _Be Tick free! Vote For Me!_ Lorelai snorted in amusement, barely containing her mirth as she moved on.

Her amusement quickly turned to glee as she spotted the huge poster of Gypsy that she had convinced Luke to hang in the diner earlier that day. The poster contained a giant headshot of Gypsy wearing her signature pig-tales and a big grin. Printed across the bottom of the poster were the words: _In Gypsy We Trust_, the slogan they had finally settled on that afternoon following much debating and a helpful hint from Luke.

Loreali's eyes brightened as she thought of Luke, and she sped up her pace, opening the door to the diner and stepping inside seconds later. She scanned the room looking for him, seeing only two occupied tables. One contained a family with a small child and the other was the site of a raging gossip session between Babette and Miss Patty.

Lorelai waved at them as she walked past and disappeared behind the curtain, trying to ignore the comments she overheard as the topic of their discussion turned to her and Luke. She blushed slightly as she started up the stairs that led to Luke's apartment. She was still a little shocked at the attention they were receiving from the townies over their relationship. Last week's meeting about blue and pink ribbons was still a rampant topic of conversation and though Lorelai found it kind of amusing, she knew that it really bothered Luke.

She paused outside the door to his apartment and took a deep breath, trying to abate the butterflies fluttering frantically in her stomach. Even though they'd talked all summer and had been dating for a few weeks now, Lorelai was still amazed at how full she felt whenever she was around him. The way she felt when she was with him was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. A part of her wondered if perhaps she was starting to fall in love with him. She was puzzled by the fact that even though the thought frightened her a little, she was also exhilarated by it.

She took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door, listening carefully as heavy footsteps approached and the door swung open.

"Hey." Luke said in a gravely voice, grinning appreciatively as he took in the tight fitting, black floral-print dress she was wearing. Her shoes were black spiked heels with an open toe that showed off her freshly painted red toenails. He brought his eyes back to her face and felt his heart trying to pound its way out of his chest when he saw that she was wearing the earrings he'd given her.

Unable to resist touching her for a second longer, Luke brought his hand up to cup her cheek as he leaned in, his eyes locked on hers, his desire matching the desire he could sense in her. As their lips met, the pounding in his chest increased and he melted into her, bringing his arms up to encircle her waist and pull her close. She sighed softly as she felt her breasts brush against his chest. She wove her hands into his hair and opened for him as her own tongue darted into his mouth in a frantic quest of exploration.

Luke groaned, and responded to her tongue with his own as he stepped backwards and pulled her into the apartment without breaking their embrace. He kicked the door shut and then swung her around so that her back was pressed against the wall as they continued to ravage each other's mouths.

Reluctantly, Luke finally broke the kiss, gasping for air as he gazed heatedly into Lorelai's shining eyes.

Lorelai smiled at him, taking a shaky breath. "Wow. That was some welcome!" Her voice was ragged.

Luke grinned. "That was some dress."

"You like?" Lorelai blinked her eyelashes flirtatiously.

"Oh, I like." Luke's voice was a low growl. He leaned in and kissed her again, more tenderly this time, sucking lightly on her bottom lip before pulling away and gazing at her adoringly. "I'm sorry, this wasn't the plan."

Lorelai's eyes brightened and she said playfully, "You, the mocker of the pro/con list, had a plan?"

Luke chuckled, happiness radiating from his face as he gestured behind him. "I thought I'd make you dinner."

Lorelai peered over his shoulder into the kitchen area. Luke had laid a crimson tablecloth over the worn table and set it with proper place settings. Two tall taper candles sat in the middle of the table flanking a vase of the most beautiful lilies she'd ever seen. Her gaze shifted to the pot of boiling water on the stove. Lorelai breathed in, registering a sweet, herb-like smell.

Her heart was swelling as she looked back to Luke, tears brimming her eyes because she was so moved by his efforts. "You did this for me?" She looked at him questioningly as she wondered what she'd done to deserve such an amazing person in her life.

Luke nodded and whispered, "I'd do anything for you."

Lorelai's gaze had shifted over to the counter where there was a fresh, chocolate frosted cake just begging to be eaten. At Luke's words, she stopped salivating over the cake and snapped her head back to look at him. She studied his face, seeing the truth of his words etched all over his face. For the third time that evening she was hit with a tidal wave of emotions. Earlier, she had thought she couldn't possibly feel more complete emotionally, and now here she was literally drowning in her emotions.

"Luke…" she trailed off, uncertain of what to say to him. This was still so new and she was partially terrified of how she felt, of how he felt about her. It wasn't that she didn't want to be with him. The truth was, the more time she spent with Luke, the more she couldn't bear to be apart from him.

No, she was scared of herself. She knew she was bad at relationships; the trail of emotional shrapnel that she left in her wake was certainly evidence of that. She was terrified she'd destroy this thing, the way she had destroyed every single one of her relationships prior to Luke. A part of her realized that Luke was different from the rest, she wanted this, wanted him, more than she'd ever wanted anything or anyone in her life.

When he'd told her on their first date a few weeks ago that he was "all in", she had wanted to pull away, to protect herself, protect him. But her heart wouldn't let her, so instead she had frozen, unable to respond. She knew she should have said something then to let him know that she was in it, but she couldn't do it, she was too afraid of hurting them both.

Now, as she stood in his apartment, overwhelmed by her reaction to his passionate greeting and romantic gestures, she knew that it was time to respond to his statement, Time to take a giant leap into the great, terrifying unknown and share her heart with him.

Luke was staring at her questioningly, waiting patiently for her to respond. He began to worry when she continued to gaze into space absently for several moments. Finally, she seemed to surface from whatever bubble she'd been floating on. She took a deep breath and reached for his hand, which had been resting lightly on her shoulder. She squeezed it gently, then held it firmly for encouragement as she pulled away from the wall and led him over to the couch. She sat down and tugged gently at the hand she still grasped, pulling him down to sit beside her.

She shifted slightly to face him better, her thumb absently caressing his hand as she lifted her gaze to meet his. She studied him for a moment, gathering courage from the reassuring and loving look that he gave her. "Luke." His name came out as a shaky whisper so she tried again, wanting to sound confident, "Luke, you remember what you told me at Sniffy's?"

"About the horoscope?"

Lorelai beamed, still in awe that he'd kept it for so many years. "Well that. And the other thing… you know, the one about being all in?"

Luke nodded, and squeezed her hand gently, encouraging her to continue. As she spoke, he reached for her other hand and held both in his lap, returning her gentle caresses.

"I never answered you." She looked down for a moment, ashamed.

Luke reached over and transferred his caress to her cheek, gently lifting her chin back up so that she was looking at him. "I sort of sprang that on you, I wasn't really expecting a reply."

Lorelai shook her head and looked away again. "I still should have answered you. I should have told you…" she pulled her hand from his grasp and started to twirl her hair nervously before trying again. "I should have told you how I feel. But I was just…"

"Scared?" Luke supplied gently, pulling her hand away from her hair and holding it still in his.

Lorelai nodded, her eyes fixated on their joined hands. Her fingers traced over Luke's knuckles before she finally allowed herself to meet his gaze. "I all in too," she whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible.

Luke's eyes were beacons of unspoken sentiment as he leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers softly. Lorelai relaxed against his body as he pulled her close and leaned back against the couch. He kissed her tenderly and thoroughly, overcome with happiness about Lorelai's admission. He had suspected her feelings but having them confirmed had lifted a weight he hadn't realized he'd been carrying.

Lorelai moaned against his lips, and deepened the kiss, their tongues mingling together with increasing synchronicity until she could no longer tell where hers ended and his began. She threw herself into the kiss with her whole being, infusing it with the urgency of her unspoken feelings. Every twinge of affection, elation, safety, passion, joy, and (though she didn't realize it yet), love that she had been feeling, flowed from her to Luke. Luke sensed the difference in her kisses, intuitively knowing that this was her way of expressing the emotions she wasn't yet ready to voice. He answered her silent declaration by enveloping her, allowing his feelings for her to motivate his every kiss, caress and touch.

He pulled away wordlessly, and walked to the stove, his eyes never straying from the gorgeous creature that was sitting on his couch looking stunned. He quickly turned off the oven and returned to her, offering her his hand to help her up. She grasped it and he helped her to her feet, embracing her in an affectionate hug before leading her toward his bedroom.

Her lips felt naked without his kisses and before they made it to the bedroom she was unable to restrain herself from pulling him into another passionate kiss. She broke the kiss for a moment; her breath catching as she gently brushed his scruffy jaw line with the back of her hand. She looked up at him, her unguarded eyes revealing the depths of her emotions as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Luke" she whispered, her breath moist and warm against his ear, "I want you to be the last man I ever kiss."

He responded to her confession by showering her with tender kisses to her forehead, eyelids, and nose before trailing wet kisses down the side of both cheeks and claiming her lips as his own once more. Instantly her body was on fire and she wanted to be kissed by him, touched by him, and loved by him, in every possible way.

As the intensity of their kiss increased, Luke and Lorelai found themselves stumbling to the bedroom in a flurry of printed flowers and flying flannel. They collapsed onto the bed, entwined in a loving embrace as they each basked in the glow of the other's elation.

For the second time since they'd started dating, Luke and Lorelai made love to each other. They were tender and caring as they savoured every caress, kiss, and action. They poured out their hearts and souls to each other, and as they tumbled over the edge with their hands laced together, they both knew with certainty that there would be no turning back.

TBC


	6. Victorious

_**A/N: **Wow. The time I thought would never come has finally arrived. Yup. That's right this is the next and final chapter of TippeGypsyDoo. Thank you to all my readers for your kind words of encouragement as I have embarked on this slightly twisted, slightly comical, slightly nutty, and sometimes ever heated tale of Gypsy's political journey. It's been a blast to write and I'm trilled to have had the opportunity to share it with all of you these past few months. _

_A huge thank you and many much hugs to **Jewels12** the best beta and friend a girl could have asked for. Your suggestions and comments on each of these chapters have been something I've looked forward to and treasured. And I think some of those comma rules are finally sinking into this thick, idea filled skull of mine! But don't worry, you're not out of work yet! _

_I hope you enjoy this final installment of TippeGypsyDoo as much as I enjoyed writing it!_

**Victorious**

Lorelai rested her head on Luke's bare chest and traced lazy circles around his nipples as she listened to his deep breathing. The gentle rise and fall of his chest was relaxing and she felt more content than she had in a long time.

Luke smiled down at her and slowly stroked his fingers through her hair as he marveled at how open she had been with him about her emotions this evening. Any doubts or fears he'd had about the permanence of their relationship had been replaced with an overwhelming feeling of love and devotion. His smile broadened as he watched her fingers glide across his skin and his thoughts turned to their recent love making.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud gurgling sound coming from the vicinity of Lorelai's abdomen. She giggled slightly and shifted her body so she could look at him. "I think it's time for that dinner you promised me."

Luke chuckled, his own stomach churning noisily. "I think you're right." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head before sliding out from beneath her.

Lorelai rested her head on a pillow and watched appreciatively as he pulled a tight pair of jeans over the perfect curve of his backside. He walked around the room, searching for his shirt. He found it poking out from under the bed on her side, but when he moved to pull it on she stopped him, tugging it gently out of his grasp.

"I like the natural man look on you," she said by way of explanation as she pulled his blue flannel shirt over her head and moved to climb out of the bed.

Luke grinned as she draped her long legs over the side of the bed, and rose to stand beside him. "Fine. But if I have to go without the shirt, you have to go without the pants." He leaned over and kissed her gently on the nose while he quickly unfastened the first few buttons of her shirt, revealing the gentle swell of her cleavage. "And wear the shirt like that." He kissed her again, this time on the lips, and walked toward the kitchen.

He bent down to inspect the pork tenderloin that was in the oven. He lifted the lid and the apartment filled with the delicious aroma of rosemary, thyme and something sweet, like wine. Lorelai's stomach growled again and she followed him into the kitchen, plunking herself unceremoniously onto one of the chairs at the table.

She observed Luke with wonder as he moved gracefully throughout the kitchen adding the finishing touches to their meal. There was something about him, half naked, and moving around the kitchen that made her want to grab him and do unsanitary things to him on the table. She blushed when Luke caught her eye, her cheeks flaming at the less than virtuous thoughts she was having.

Lorelai looked away, trying to think of less dangerous things; _bicycle, unicycle, unitard, hockey puck,_ _rattlesnake, monkey, monkey underpants. _She giggled, attracting a strange look from Luke as he carried their plates to the table and set one in front of her.

Lorelai took in the delicious feast before her. Even the strange green vegetables looked good. "Wow, Luke, this looks amazing," she said, awe ringing in her voice. "I didn't know you could cook."

"I cook for you every day." He pointed out as he began to eat.

"Yeah, but that's diner food. This is real food. It's fancy stuff. I didn't know you could do this." She cut off a piece of her meat and moaned as it practically melted in her mouth.

Luke tried to ignore his body's reaction to her moan, attempting to focus on her words instead. "One of the many mysteries you have yet to discover about me."

"You mean there are more? And here I thought I knew everything about you. Why Luke, have you been holding out on me?" she teased.

"I've got to do something to keep you interested," he joked.

"Oh babe," she breathed, "Believe me, that is not going to be a problem."

xxxx

The next morning was election day, and Lorelai woke before Luke. She watched him sleep for a moment; there was a giant smile on his face and she wondered what he was dreaming about. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and reluctantly climbed out of the warm bed. She had a bunch of things to do for the inn today in addition to last minute campaigning and post election party planning, so she needed to get an early start.

She quickly threw on her fancy dress and heels and slipped down to the diner to grab a quick coffee before she ran home to change into her work attire.

She was sitting at the counter, inhaling the blessed aroma of the java bean when Kirk cornered her.

"Lorelai. I'm glad I caught you!" He held his hands behind his back as he bounced excitedly.

Lorelai eyed him wearily, terrified of the indescribable item that was sure to jump out at her from behind his back. _6 am is really too early in the morning to deal with Kirk_, she thought, groaning inwardly. _How does Luke do this on a daily basis?_

Taking Lorelai's look as an invitation to continue, Kirk pulled the item out and held it up proudly.

Lorelai frowned, wondering what was significant about a plain black t-shirt. "Uh, nice colour, Kirk. It's very… um, black."

Kirk's face fell. He was clearly disappointed in her reaction. "You don't like it? But it's your slogan!"

"What slogan, Kirk? It's a blank shirt." Lorelai turned back to her coffee and took a huge gulp.

Kirk frowned and examined the t-shirt carefully. After several moments of wrestling with it, he finally turned it right side out and held it up again. This time, Lorelai saw the words _In Gyspy We Trust_ emblazoned across it in white lettering.

"It's lovely Kirk," she said, trying to stifle a giggle, "But um… who is Gyspy?"

"Gyspy?" Kirk was clearly confused.

"Yeah. GySPY! Oh! Maybe they're a spy for Taylor." Lorelai frowned. "Okay, my jokes suck at this time of the morning." She swallowed another mouthful of coffee.

Kirk inspected the t-shirt again, this time noticing his error. "Crap! Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" he shouted, stamping his foot.

"Watch the language Kirk, or you mother might make you wash your mouth out with soap again," Lorelai warned.

"Sorry!" Kirk promptly shut his mouth but continued to stomp his feet. He was practically having a tantrum in the middle of the diner, and every early bird in the room was staring at him.

Finally, Kirk stopped his odd jiggling, pursed his lips determinedly and said to Lorelai, "I will fix this," before he sped out of the diner and around the corner.

Lorelai shook her head, poured her coffee into a to-go cup and headed off to face the insanity that was sure to be her day.

xxxx

At 5 that evening Lorelai returned to the diner to meet up with Gypsy and Sookie for the pre-rally, rally. Luke was leaning on the counter glaring at his diner of crazy. The place was packed and no one was ordering anything, instead they were all plotting ways to ensure Taylor's political demise.

Luke brightened when Lorelai stepped into the diner and came toward him. "Hey," he said, as she leaned across the counter. He found her lips and began to kiss her with urgency. He'd been disappointed when he'd woken up alone that morning and he'd been day dreaming about kissing her all day.

Lorelai's eyes widened in pleasant surprise, this was his second sudden public display of passionate affection this week. _I could get used to this,_ she thought as she pressed her tongue against his lips and entered his mouth.

Luke was just beginning to curse the counter between them when a loud fake cough from behind Lorelai caused them to break apart.

Gypsy was standing in the middle of the diner with her hands on her hips, looking less than pleased. "I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure was heading toward 'get a room' making out, but the polls have opened and Taylor is refusing to let people in."

"What?" Lorelai swung around to the other side of her stool and looked at Gypsy incredulously. "Seriously?"

"See for yourself." Gypsy gestured across the street where Taylor was standing on the front porch of Miss Patty's surrounded by a mob of angry townspeople. Sookie was standing on the first step, her cheeks blazing as she screamed at him.

"Wow. It's like he's reached a whole new level of crazy," Lorelai said.

Luke grimaced. "If someone opened a store in this town selling giant butterfly nets they'd make a fortune."

Lorelai laughed. "I guess I better go help Sookie before she explodes. I'll see you later, babe."

Lorelai shot Luke one last glance that clearly indicated that she wasn't done with him yet, before grabbing Gypsy's hand and pulling her across the street to Miss Patty's.

Sookie and Taylor were engaged in a vicious cycle of "Can not! Can too's!" by the time Lorelai managed to shove her way through the crowd.

"Sookie stop, this is getting us nowhere," Lorelai said sternly to her friend. Sookie pursed her lips and stood glaring stonily at Taylor.

Gypsy took advantage of the sudden silence to take her shot, "For crying out loud, Taylor, the polls were supposed to open ten minutes ago. Just open the door and let the people vote."

The rowdy crowd roared in agreement with shouts of "Yeah!" and "Get over yourself, ya big bully!"

Taylor raised his hands in defeat and moved away from the entrance. The crowd surged forward and Lorelai had to press herself against the side of the building to avoid being crushed.

As the crowd thinned, Taylor headed back to his Soda Shoppe while Gypsy, Sookie and Lorelai held a conference in the gazebo.

"So what do you think my chances are?" Gypsy asked suddenly.

"After tonight's little display, I'd say you're a shoe in, " Sookie squealed. "That's a weird expression isn't it? Shoe in. What does that even mean?"

Sookie's musings were interrupted by Kirk who came tearing up the path like a moose in heat. He collapsed, wheezing, onto the floor of the gazebo as the three women gaped in bewilderment.

"I'm okay." Kirk gasped, his hand on his chest as he breathed rapidly, trying to get oxygen to his brain. "I … just … wanted to … tell you, the results of my latest …. poll are in." He stood up as his breathing reached normalcy again.

"They are?" Sookie clapped.

Lorelai looked pointedly at Kirk. "What was the result?"

"Unanimous. I polled every single person in town and they all said the same thing, they're all voting for Gypsy."

"Everyone?" Gypsy's jaw dropped.

"Yes. Hatred for Taylor runs very deep."

"Wow." Lorelai blinked, shocked.

Sookie shouted happily and did an odd victory dance, arms and legs flailing everywhere. Kirk ducked to avoid a collision before exclaiming, "Oh. I almost forgot." He pulled a box out from underneath the gazebo bench and handed them each a t-shirt. "I'm giving these to everyone."

"Thanks," Gypsy said, holding it up.

"Gyspy?" Sookie tilted her head, as if to see if it would make the letters switch into the proper order.

Kirk sighed. "The printer couldn't change it. You could just change your name, you know, we could all start calling you that."

"No. You couldn't." Gypsy glowered at him.

"Thanks for the gesture, Kirk," Lorelai interjected. She handed Kirk a large pile of shirts and sent him to hand them out.

Once he was gone, Gypsy pulled on the shirt and shrugged. "I kind of like it." Her eyes narrowed. "But if you ever tell, I'll have to kill you."

Sookie and Lorelai agreed, pulling on their own shirts. Then the three women linked arms and headed to the polls.

xxxx

Several hours later, practically the whole town was crowded into the diner to celebrate Gypsy's victory. Almost everyone was wearing one of Kirk's t-shirts and the spy jokes were flying.

Taylor was sitting next door, alone, alternating between gazing wistfully at the crowded diner and attempting to make phone calls about the sign in the town square which someone had changed to read "Gypsyville" instead of Stars Hollow.

Luke appeared to have gone into hiding, so once Lorelai was sure everyone had everything they needed, she grabbed a giant slice of pie and two forks and slipped behind the curtain.

She knocked on the door and was met with silence. She knocked again, louder this time, and a moment later soft footsteps approached.

Luke opened the door, his eyes bleary and his hair mussed. He was wearing his sweats and had obviously gone to bed.

"Oh. I forgot. You have an early delivery tomorrow, don't you?" Lorelai started to back away, realizing that a spontaneous night of passion with Luke was not in the cards for the night.

"I do, but come in anyway." He swung the door open and beckoned for her to enter.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." He gently grasped her wrist and tugged her toward him, nearly knocking the pie out of her hand.

He kicked the door shut behind them and led her to the couch. After safely storing the pie on the counter, he returned to her and planted hot, wet kisses along her jaw. "I couldn't sleep," he whispered between kisses. "I couldn't stop thinking about you." He kissed his way to her ear and blew on it softly, sending a chill of excitement jolting through her body.

Lorelai tugged gently on his hair and directed his mouth to hers. He took her mouth with his, possessing her with every kiss, every thrust of his tongue.

He paused for a moment. "I forgot to ask how the election went. Please tell me Taylor lost."

"Taylor lost." Lorelai grinned. "Gypsy is now our fearless leader."

"Thank goodness," Luke said through gritted teeth. "Another day of Taylor and his--"

Lorelai placed a finger to his lips to shush him. "I don't want to talk about Taylor," she whispered as she rose from the couch and playfully unbuttoned her shirt. She backed her way toward the bedroom, silently willing Luke to follow her.

_FIN_


End file.
